11/7/17

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The Manipulation Games 3: Rebellion

Chapter Six: Snap

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Oddly, my new quarters are more comforting than my previous residence. While any Capitolite would have a mcfreaking heart attack at the sight of the place, I feel like I have a stronger grip on whatever is left of my sanity here. And while I'd never admit it, I'm grateful to have Annie's company. It makes it a heck of a lot easier to keep an eye on her too. Sure, the circumstances are terrifying, but there's not much they can do to us while they still need us for propaganda.

At least, I hope that's where they took Peeta this morning.

I hear the sound of footsteps echoing from down the hall. It can't be Peeta, since it only sounds like one person, and they would never trust him to wander around alone. No, it would be all too easy for him to escape. He's been gone for so long though, I can't help but wonder what's taking so long. And if it's not Peeta, that probably means it's my turn to be turned into the Capitol's circus dog, jumping through hoops to please the crowd.

Shoot.

Me.

Now.

When our mysterious stranger decides to show his face, I mentally repeat my previous statement and pray for the sweet release of death. A tall man with ginger hair and eyes the shade of brown often stereotypically associated with District 7 unlocks the door and smirks at the state I've found myself in.

"Miss Mason, so we meet again."

I narrow my eyes, because the security camera on the ceiling isn't aesthetically pleasing enough to roll them. "Oleander."

It's better than Nero, it really is. But I'd rather have neither of them than either of them, and typically when one rears their ugly head they both do.

"I think you know the drill by now. Come here willingly and I won't have to cuff you."

I glance at Annie to make sure she's still asleep (no use freaking her out), and remain seated. He looks at me, confused, and I stare at him blankly. Since he refuses to stay dead, I may as well make his life as difficult as I can.

"Johanna," he warns. It feels a little childish, like a parent getting upset at their child for refusing to leave for school, but I still stay seated. Eventually, he has to actually go into the cell and drag me out, at which point I stand up immediately as he gets to me. He stares at me, before cuffing me and dragging me out of the cell.

"Did you at least read my letter?" he grumbles.

I roll my eyes. "You've given me a lot of letters. If you could specify it's contents, that would be fantastic. Wait- I know which one you're talking about. The one where you tell me that you wish you could tell me the details, but everything you do is for my dead best friend who wanted nothing to do with your slimy, pathetic personality? Oh wait, they all say that!"

"Because it's the truth!" he snaps. "You know why I keep saying these things? Do you? Because I don't think you've believed me the last eight-thousand times I've sent it!"

"Well maybe I'd believe you if you actually gave me the slightest indication as to what your problem is! Because right now what I believe is that you have a stick shoved up an unpleasant place that won't go away unless you refuse to leave me alone!"

"You know what? You're the prisoner, not me! You've made your choice to aid the rebellion, while I've made the right choice and stayed loyal to the Capitol. Stop acting like you're an innocent flower instead of a war criminal."

I can't help it. I laugh.

"You know what the irony here is? You're not innocent either. The blood of Maple's family is entirely on your hands, yet you claim that you've always had her best interests at heart!"

"Because I do! If I didn't do what I had to do, there wouldn't be a chance to bring her back!"

Suddenly, all the color drains from his face. Clearly, he said something he wasn't supposed to. But I don't care about his fate- only the weight of the words that have doomed him.

"There's a way to bring her back?" I whisper.

Oleander looks panicked, defensive even. But then I realize something that only someone who truly loved her could ever conclude. And that's not Oleander. He was only ever infatuated and in love with the idea of her. He never truly knew her, not like I did.

He wasn't her sister.

"How could you?"

His terror turns to confusion. "W-what?"

"Maple would never agree to any of this. Nero hurt her family- you hurt her family! If she were here and she knew what you were doing, she would refuse to let him help her."

Oleander smirks, stopping outside a door. "Oh Johanna. If only you knew the depths of what's really going on."

"Shut up," I hiss as he opens the door.

We enter a room not unlike my cell- white walls, no windows, and a drain in the middle. There are, however, two differences. The first, less obvious, is the fact that this one appears to have a sprinkler system. I can only assume that this is because we have entered the room where they keep their special prisoners- you know, the ones that they'd rather not set on fire. However, I still need to address the elephant in the room. And in this case, the elephant is a chair.

The chair is large and black, and sits in the middle of the room. Attached to each of the arms of the chair is a singular handcuff (because Nero has a problem I guess), and the chair itself is bolted to the floor. I can't explain why, but the room fills me with dread. It becomes immediately clear that I can't go into the room and come out alive.

Thus, I begin to fight.

Kicking, biting, punching- the method doesn't matter. As long as I get away from here, nothing else matters. I don't care how irrational it may seem- my instincts have been the only thing keeping me alive thus far and they haven't failed me yet. I begin to wish that I hadn't acted so immaturely earlier, because a lack of cuffs would make it so much easier to fight. But fight I do, and I refuse to surrender.

However, it isn't surrendering if you're captured. Despite my best efforts, Oleander pins me to the chair and replaces his cuffs with the ones on the chair. Without another word to me, he leaves the room and slams the door shut.

I shudder and bite the inside of my cheek. I guess I may have bitten too hard though, because I draw blood. The metallic taste enters my mouth and makes me gag. Memories of the night Blight died play through my head like some sick horror movie, and more than anything I want him back. I want everyone back. But even if Nero can bring one of them back to me, I refuse to accept his terms. And I know the ones I love would do the same.

How does the saying go? Speak of the devil and he will appear? Well, who would walk into the room but Nero. He seems angrier than normal, as though someone personally insulted his mother. Not that I care, seeing as he personally killed my mother. Yet still, it's odd seeing him like this, since I previously thought there was no way he could get angrier.

"Johanna. I'm going to cut to the chase. For years now, you've been a constant thorn in my side. Clearly, you wish to be at the center of the rebellion. I'd even go as far as saying that you're jealous of Miss Everdeen. Tell me everything you know about the rebellion, and I'll not only let you go, but I will personally give you the opportunity to bring her down."

Wow. He is nuts.

"I'd rather die!" I growl.

Nero chuckles. "While your offer to let me kill you is generous, I have much worse things in mind."

He presses down on one of my cuffs, and I'm shocked by a jolt of electricity. It stings, but it's over within seconds. Piece of cake, I can take this!

"I'll stop if you talk."

"As if!" I scoff.

He presses down on the cuffs again, this time long enough for me to register what's happening. I begin to tremble violently, as if my whole body is cramping. I feel a brief trickle of moisture escape my eyes, and I hear a scream. Except it doesn't sound like my own voice. It's a voice that I know, but I can't figure out from where. Nero must hear it too, because the moment the scream is over he releases the cuffs. I immediately feel relief. There's a coolness in my muscles, and I feel my heartbeat drop back to a normal pace.

Nero frowns. "Hopefully, I've given you something to consider for tomorrow. In the meantime, I have some business to attend to in the family."

He leaves, and I begin to wonder how much of this I can take before I snap.

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Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games

Hi again! Sorry it took such an insane amount of time to update. It's NaNoWriMo this month though, so I'm going to try to write more. Hopefully this means we'll have more updates :)

Thank you Random-Dreaming and BookArtist for adding this story to your favorites, and doraviolet and BookArtist for reviewing. I'm glad you guys like the story!

Quote of the day!

"That was a lot of explosions for two people blending in." -K-2SO, Rouge One

May the odds be ever in your favor,

Spectrobes Princess